Adam, keep at it... I believe this type of honesty will help the concept of our democracy (not sure when to capitalize the 'd'). I do think a speaker from outside the current house that has proven integrity would be phenomenal for out nation! Total Gratitude!!!
A retired Republican Congressmen who is well liked and well respected in the House could come back and be speaker. I feel like I know someone else who fits that description *cough* ADAM KINZINGER *cough* Just saying I think you’d do well and you would give Ukraine what they need to win
Great thinking Adam! We need someone with enough backbone and guts to develop a good plan and implement it. Don’t listen to all of the talking heads that only have opinions, but aren’t willing to act
I love what you said about the Speaker-ship and its intended purpose -- not as leader of a party but the leader of the whole House. That says so much, as it seems to be a completely foreign concept to so many who have held that position. As someone who is unfamiliar with the intricacies and procedures involved in the nominating and voting processes of Congress (maybe they are simpler than I realize), I'd love to learn more about this concept of a Consensus Speaker. You are right -- if not now, when? One has to begin somewhere. And as an acquaintance of mine proclaimed in a book he authored: "Keep on failing... until you DON'T".
I think if the Democrats felt they could trust Kevin McCarthy even a little bit they would have voted to keep him in. This is a Republican problem that can be remedied with Democratic votes if the candidate for Speaker had a track record of wanting to keep the Country going and wasn't part of the cult of Trump. Someone indeed needs to saddle up then a whole lot of others support that risk.
And what of the possibility of Jeffries as a consensus speaker? Finding five Rs to support that sounds easier than getting every D to support an R at a moment when the Rs are the ones driving the chaos.
I am a registered democrat former independent. I was raised in a Republican atmosphere although I am over 70 I would really like to see more civility and con senses and would be open to broader views. We must I think or it is democracy lost. Perhaps there are others of like mind it is a difficult journey with all our challenges. I appreciate this place of thoughtful people
Random suggestion... how about asking America who they trust the most (right now I would vote you but know you don't have the votes...) but why not find out who America trusts the most?? We are in a crisis, Mark Cuban is the only name I can come up with at the moment (no affiliation), there must be others.
The idea of a consensus speaker has a lot of merit, but the problem is and will forever be that as long as someone like Donald Trump is around to demand obedience and absolute loyalty to him, the 200 and so elected representatives that represent the Republican conference in the House of Representatives will live in fear that Trump will denounce them, and encourage them to be primaried during the next election. The way the election machinery works today is to maximize the extremes at the expense of the middle. It's helped along by the fact that a great deal of money that goes into fielding a campaign for election to any elective office now comes from small donations, where individuals are set upon mercilessly to contribute a few bucks here and there to whomever attracts their attention. Probably 75 to 80 percent of my daily emails are pleas from election hopefuls from every point on the compass. Each of us has become a de facto ATM machine for these people, the vast majority of whom I have never heard of. Among these folks, compromise and accommodation are not readily arrived at. Voters out in the hinterland see in these elections in some sort of Armageddon; and a good many of them have never had to think about what other people think to be important in any sort of political program. That's unfortunate, because it promotes an absolutist mindset where anything not precisely tailored to the most extreme position that can be taken is denounced as treasonable. Regrettably, Republicans seem to indulge in these apocalyptic fantasies more than Democrats, although the Left is rapidly catching up in its own vitriolic Dance of Death. Any sensible person would understand that politics is the art of give-and-take, and accommodation of varying interests has always been at the core of getting any of the people's business done.
When representatives returned to their home districts to meet with constituents, they invariably are met with audiences who have already been primed to hate anything the opposition might have offered; and everyone expects that the initial discussions will be the final offer. The bargaining ever succeeds that way. For their own good, groups of representatives ought to get together to figure out how to preach the gospel of negotiation and problem solving. It may seem to be a lost cause, but we do this all the time where early offers, once examined and discussed, mature into workable settlement proposals. All that is lacking is the willingness to do that, and to hear out with the other side has to say.
Adam, keep at it... I believe this type of honesty will help the concept of our democracy (not sure when to capitalize the 'd'). I do think a speaker from outside the current house that has proven integrity would be phenomenal for out nation! Total Gratitude!!!
Thank you! Thanks for being on the journey!
A retired Republican Congressmen who is well liked and well respected in the House could come back and be speaker. I feel like I know someone else who fits that description *cough* ADAM KINZINGER *cough* Just saying I think you’d do well and you would give Ukraine what they need to win
Great thinking Adam! We need someone with enough backbone and guts to develop a good plan and implement it. Don’t listen to all of the talking heads that only have opinions, but aren’t willing to act
Agreed. The question is would congress have courage? Don’t see that much, unless they feel pressure from all of us
I love what you said about the Speaker-ship and its intended purpose -- not as leader of a party but the leader of the whole House. That says so much, as it seems to be a completely foreign concept to so many who have held that position. As someone who is unfamiliar with the intricacies and procedures involved in the nominating and voting processes of Congress (maybe they are simpler than I realize), I'd love to learn more about this concept of a Consensus Speaker. You are right -- if not now, when? One has to begin somewhere. And as an acquaintance of mine proclaimed in a book he authored: "Keep on failing... until you DON'T".
Indeed
Would there be support from the Dems for Liz or would the Republicans totally balk at that?
Doubt it. At least not unified
I think if the Democrats felt they could trust Kevin McCarthy even a little bit they would have voted to keep him in. This is a Republican problem that can be remedied with Democratic votes if the candidate for Speaker had a track record of wanting to keep the Country going and wasn't part of the cult of Trump. Someone indeed needs to saddle up then a whole lot of others support that risk.
I fear that Jim Jordan will be the next speaker.
Me too
Please, no!
I certainly hope we get someone better than that. His posturing and angling for sound bites is repulsive. The country deserves better.
Yes, it does.
Jordan is dangerous, strategic, and highly likely to win.
This is who the far right wants in control.
Keep in mind that the Speaker of the House
is THIRD in line for the Presidency.
Can you think of any scenarios?
So can they.
Horrifying to contemplate.
It goes President, Vice President, Speaker of the House.
So I should have said the Speaker is SECOND in line.
And what of the possibility of Jeffries as a consensus speaker? Finding five Rs to support that sounds easier than getting every D to support an R at a moment when the Rs are the ones driving the chaos.
There definitely is one man who could ride in on a white horse...Adam Kinzinger!
Do you think anyone would propose this in the real world? I wonder how many Democrats would be willing. It would certainly start things moving.
I’m not sure. The only thing limiting them is their will and courage
I am a registered democrat former independent. I was raised in a Republican atmosphere although I am over 70 I would really like to see more civility and con senses and would be open to broader views. We must I think or it is democracy lost. Perhaps there are others of like mind it is a difficult journey with all our challenges. I appreciate this place of thoughtful people
I would
I would
Random suggestion... how about asking America who they trust the most (right now I would vote you but know you don't have the votes...) but why not find out who America trusts the most?? We are in a crisis, Mark Cuban is the only name I can come up with at the moment (no affiliation), there must be others.
I’d support that
The idea of a consensus speaker has a lot of merit, but the problem is and will forever be that as long as someone like Donald Trump is around to demand obedience and absolute loyalty to him, the 200 and so elected representatives that represent the Republican conference in the House of Representatives will live in fear that Trump will denounce them, and encourage them to be primaried during the next election. The way the election machinery works today is to maximize the extremes at the expense of the middle. It's helped along by the fact that a great deal of money that goes into fielding a campaign for election to any elective office now comes from small donations, where individuals are set upon mercilessly to contribute a few bucks here and there to whomever attracts their attention. Probably 75 to 80 percent of my daily emails are pleas from election hopefuls from every point on the compass. Each of us has become a de facto ATM machine for these people, the vast majority of whom I have never heard of. Among these folks, compromise and accommodation are not readily arrived at. Voters out in the hinterland see in these elections in some sort of Armageddon; and a good many of them have never had to think about what other people think to be important in any sort of political program. That's unfortunate, because it promotes an absolutist mindset where anything not precisely tailored to the most extreme position that can be taken is denounced as treasonable. Regrettably, Republicans seem to indulge in these apocalyptic fantasies more than Democrats, although the Left is rapidly catching up in its own vitriolic Dance of Death. Any sensible person would understand that politics is the art of give-and-take, and accommodation of varying interests has always been at the core of getting any of the people's business done.
When representatives returned to their home districts to meet with constituents, they invariably are met with audiences who have already been primed to hate anything the opposition might have offered; and everyone expects that the initial discussions will be the final offer. The bargaining ever succeeds that way. For their own good, groups of representatives ought to get together to figure out how to preach the gospel of negotiation and problem solving. It may seem to be a lost cause, but we do this all the time where early offers, once examined and discussed, mature into workable settlement proposals. All that is lacking is the willingness to do that, and to hear out with the other side has to say.
YES "...maybe this is the exact moment to act."
It is. Will they? With pressure maybe